Deano keno at The D still one of Vegas' best deals

You come to Vegas with $100 to play keno. How can you have max fun, a good chance for a win, and not run out of keno money during your stay?

Suffice it to say you need low minimums, especially on way tickets.The best place would be downtown where you can play for as low as a penny a game (if you play enough games of course).

Let’s have some real fun and get a good return as well. For purposes of this column we shall use The D in downtown Las Vegas with their “Deano” rate, the highest return rate in town for low level play. Return at this rate averages about 85% before figuring in comps and offers.

This rate allows 10-cent ways as long as you have a ticket value of $2 or more. Forty cents per game is this rate in the pay folder. Any multiple of this rate for straight or way tickets is paid proportionally. Look for the white folder advertising this special rate.

As my regular readers know I really like 7 spots as they give a lot of bang for your buck. The buck hits you in the head with a bang and you have a lot of headache.

Seriously, with 10-cent ways we can have real fun on a limited bankroll. Let’s look at the following ticket. Play groups of 3-2-1-1-1 and you have an 8, three 7s, and four 6s. It is up to you if you want to go for the very large win or the moderate and large wins.

Play 6s and up and spend 80 cents a game. Your $100 game bankroll will get you a minimum of 125 games. If you want to play more you can use some of the winnings of the first 125 games.

You can also play only the 7s and the 8 and spend 40 cents a game and your initial bankroll will be good for 250 games. Again, you can use the winnings to play more.

While hitting a solid 7 or 8 has long odds, you will get a fair amount for intermediate and small hits where you hit 5 of 8, 5 of 7, more and less as you play your series of games since you have multiple tickets going (way tickets are like having multiple tickets, they are just written on the same ticket).

If you are the conservative type who would rather go for a smaller but more likely win, try a 2-2-2-1 for a 7, a 6, and three 5s, costing 50 cents a game. Your $100 will last 200 games and you can play more from the winnings if you like.

Try also a ticket grouped at 3-2-1, playing a 6, a 5, a 4 and two 3s for 50 cents a game at 10 cents a way.Lots of small hits on this type of ticket may be yours with a chance for a slightly larger win if you hit 5 the right way (solid) or all the numbers (6 out of 6).

Willing to spend a $1 a game? Group your ticket as 2-2-1-1 giving you a 6, two 5s, three 4s, and four 3s. I have played this ticket in the past and have had fun with it, and kings and deuces are the easiest to hit. As reference a king is a single number circled (group of one) and a deuce is two numbers circled.

So to those who think keno cannot be fun, I am sure you are glad to be connected as keno IS fun. Your money lasts longer due the slower game speed, you won’t be rushed deciding to hit or stay on that hard 16 or worrying about the “devil” (the dreaded 7) popping up, and you don’t have to make your point the hard way either.

By the way, at The D it is OK to play/bet over your head as the keno lounge is up the escalator, thus escalate yourself to the second floor to play the game!

Have fun, you went to Vegas to have fun, keno is fun, therefore play keno to have fun,

Pesach Kremen is a former UNLV Masters Gaming student, has won and placed in multiple local keno tournaments, and has written several academic papers on keno. Email: PesachKremen@GamingToday.com